culture makers

...this is a shout out to all of the mothers of small children out there...
"...I also wanted mothers to realize that the basic unit of culture is the family, and what happens in those first five years shapes people for the rest of their lives. That's as much culture making as anything that happens in the White House or on Fifth Avenue." -Andy Crouch (in a WORLD magazine interview about his book, Culture Making)

I was enjoying my WORLD magazine and catching up on what is going on in this world (since I rarely watch the news or check news on-line), and this quote struck me. It is so easy for me, and I would guess most mothers, to get caught up in all of the repetitive tasks that go along with the job, and forget to see the big picture. We are shaping young lives...impacting our world on the most basic and fundamental level! Many moms "give up" careers to stay at home, and have a difficult time with the loss of affirmation and tangible results that the professional world can offer, but this quote reminded me that if mothers can just hold the bigger picture in their hearts and realize the importance of their "job", it would make all the difference and change the mundane and repetitive into a daily opportunity to guide and direct a young child who can already have a positive impact in this world, even at a very young age.

On a related note, I was watching the news at the gym (the only time I usually see the news!), and caught a video of a young man fighting back when a bully was terrorizing him. This young man was accosted by the bully and the bully struck him across the face and was obviously verbally assaulting him as well (since I was at the gym, there was no sound and no captions, so I am guessing at some of the details...). The young man ( a 15 yr old) had enough and picked up the bully and body slammed him. Now, this young man made national headlines and of course was invited to all kinds of interviews, and I was happy that he stood up for himself, but the thing that struck me the most was at the beginning of the video when two young girls stood by while the bully attacked and did nothing. They simply watched, almost amusedly, while the bully struck this boy, and then walked away. It saddened me to see their apathy and made me wonder if they (and/or their parents) felt ashamed watching their heartlessness displayed on national television for all to see. Now, I know this kind of stuff happens every day, and that is horrible enough for me to think of, but I hope these girls do feel ashamed and I hope their parents have a long conversation with them. It made me ponder how I can raise my children to stand up for themselves and not be a victim, but also take a stand for others and help those that are seen as weaker or that need a little extra help. If I saw a video of one of my children bullying or being a silent and approving witness to bullying, I would feel so ashamed....and angry at them. But, how to raise a little person up to want to defend the weak....to be confident and yet not cocky, to be gentle and yet not a wimp, to use words but yet actions when needed, to be discerning and wise and not rash and foolish. Wow. I so want my kiddos to make a positive impact on this world and love others for the glory of God, and I think part of the formula for that involves realizing that the little daily talks, habits, traditions, etc. are shaping my children to be positive culture makers, and I need to take that seriously.

I'd love to hear your thoughts....